1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an apparatus to position and guide an eye drop applicator to improve the accuracy when administering eye drops into an eye. More specifically, the present invention allows for one or more of selective linear and nonlinear movement to selectively adjust a height and a position of an eye drop applicator in relation to an eye, such as including one or more of vertical, lateral, oblique, and various combinations, paths and directions of movement of the eye drop applicator, to aid in the administration of an eye drop into an eye and to aid in protecting the eye from contact with the nozzle of the eye drop applicator.
2. Description of the Related Art
Many people use eye drops as treatment for microbial infections, glaucoma, dry eye syndrome, and irritation resulting from dust and other small foreign objects. People who use contact lenses for long periods of time also tend to use eye drops to re-wet their eyes. For effective treatment, the eye drops can be administered regularly at one or more times during the day, such as about three to four times a day or as prescribed by an ophthalmologist, for example. Eye drops are typically packaged in a resilient eye drop applicator bottle having a nozzle through which eye drop(s) is/are administered into the eye.
Self-administration, for example, of eye drops using known eye drop applicators, however, can be challenging and can lead to injury for various reasons. It can be difficult to properly position or align the eye drop applicator to administer eye drops at a particular location in relation to the eye while tilting the head back and simultaneously administering the eye drops. This can result in inadvertently wasting medicine or, even worse, an inability to administer the correct dosage to the eye. Also, since the eye lids and eye lashes are typically sensitive and can be subject to a reflex action when a foreign object approaches the eye, the eye lids can sometimes prevent at least a portion of the eye drops from entering the eye. Further, the close positioning of a nozzle of an eye drop applicator in front of the eye can lead to missed judgment in the eye drop application, since objects relatively close to the eye can become blurred, and can thereby cause the nozzle of the eye drop applicator to come in contact with the corneal region of the eye as can potentially cause or increase the likelihood of infection, irritation or injury to the eye. Also, such potential difficulties in eye drop administration can be more likely in individuals that experience reduced vision related to various eye conditions or coordination difficulties, such as hand tremors, as can hinder the ability to correctly position or aim the eye drop applicator, for example.
Various apparatuses for eye drop applicators that attempt to remedy the problems related to the self-administration of eye-drops are known. However, many of these known apparatuses for eye drop applicators can be selective in their application, as well as typically not being adapted to work with eye drop applicators having nozzles of a non-uniform design, size, or shape or nozzles of varying lengths, for example. Therefore, such known apparatuses for eye drop applicators, when used for other than their intended selective application, can likely increase the likelihood that the nozzles that dispense the eye drops can come in contact with the corneal region of the eye, as can increase the possibility of damage to the eye. Further, such known apparatuses for eye drop applicators can be difficult to adapt to work with individuals having different facial features (e.g. inter-pupillary distance and, the width and height of the nose) or individuals having bulging eyes or eyes below a relatively normal position because of possible difficulty or inability in achieving an acceptable position of an eye drop apparatus in relation to an eye prior to dispensing the medication. Further, by not having a significant ability to allow for or provide an acceptable position of the eye drop applicator, various known apparatuses for eye drop applicators typically can have a reduced suitability for operated, injured, or inflamed eyes, since use of such known apparatuses can likely increase a possibility of the nozzle of the eye drop applicator coming into direct contact with the eye. A likely result of such inadequacies and short comings of known apparatuses for eye drop applicators is that a relatively large majority of eye drops are generally applied or administered without using any positioning or guiding apparatus to position the eye drop applicator relative to the eye or other facial location.
Thus, an eye dropper positioning and guiding apparatus addressing the aforementioned problems is desired.